By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Taking 12 of the top 15 places is a good way to win a conference cross country championship. Watauga did just that and then some on Oct. 16 at the Lenoir Aquatic & Fitness Center course.
Pioneer senior Will Bradbury continued his dominance in the Northwestern Conference, picking up the win over 5,000 meters in 16:11.75. Teammate Grady Gates, a sophomore, finished second in 16:55.59 and junior Calvin Zwetsloot made it a 1-2-3 Watauga sweep by finishing No. 3, in 17:12.74.
South Caldwell’s Bryce Corpening was the only thing standing between Watauga and a perfect score (a sweep of the top 5 places) when he crossed the line at No. 4, only a a fraction of a second behind Zwetsloot, in 17:13.09.
James Bostrom (No. 5, 17:21.96) and Elliott Taft No. 6 (17:27.10) completed the Watauga team’s scoring as the top five finishers from the school but Zeke Walker (No. 7), Samuel Rex (No. 8) and Levi Anderson (No. 10) all placed in the top 10.
An Alexander Central senior, Griffin Duncan, crossed the line at No. 9.
Among the 68 athletes competing in the men’s race, Watauga easily had the largest contingent. Other Pioneers among the early finishers included Jonah Norris (No. 12), Andres Roman (No. 13), Isaac James (No. 14) and Holden Womack (No. 15).
TEAM SCORES
TOP 40 – NORTHWESTERN CONFERENCE MEET
